UK and Brazil launch Amazon carbon cycle study

A pioneering project to study to carbon cycle over the Amazonian rainforest has been launched by the University of Leicester (UoL) in partnership with research institutions from the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

As part of the initiative, a new UK/Brazil institutional research network has been set up with funding from the UK environmental science research funding body the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).

According to the UoF, the main goal of the research is to evaluate the feasibility of remote sensing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations over the Amazon, which is anticipated to improve understanding of the Amazonian carbon cycle and tropical carbon movements within the system.

UoL research fellow Dr Boesch, said: "Amazonia is hugely important as it stores huge amount of carbon in its biomass and soils. However, this region is under large pressure from changes in climate and environmental changes such deforestation and urbanisation which can lead to a release of this carbon into the atmosphere with severe consequences on climate."

The network also includes researchers from the University of Edinburgh and University of Leeds, as well as Brazilian institutions the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), University of Sao Paulo.

Other project partners in the USA, France and Germany are also expected to contribute to the exchange of ideas, and help meet an overall aim of creating a framework for addressing key questions around the carbon cycle.